Screen Printing Process 1

My two days in the print workshop last week were pretty full on. We learnt how to mix acid dyes (as silk is a protein fibre, 'acid milling' and 'acid levelling' dyes create effective prints on the fabric), how to use the dyes as a printable colour, and how to wash the screen to print again. 

Mixing the dyes felt like a bit of a crazy science experiment, as you have to measure out different amounts of the powders and chemicals in a fume cupboard and then  heat them, following a special 'recipe'. I chose to print in pink, yellow, orange, blue and purple- colours taken from my box clever research. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get going, as on the first day the backing cloth where I was working was dirty, so black ink from someone's previous prints came through onto mine- not what I wanted! Then on the second day, after we'd changed the cloth, there were 2 fire alarms which we had to evacuate for. This meant I had to learn to get on with my printing pretty fast to get my samples done in the afternoon! Margret, the print technician, was great and encouraging though, and when I got into the swing of things, I found the process really fun and was sad to have to stop at the end of the day! Screen printing seems like quite a progressive art,  as you work in layers, deciding between each print what you will add ontop next, and how overprinting in another colour with another shape/design will change the design that you have already built up. 

taping one of my stencils to the screen to print

Printing in progress!

goodbye stencil- it was sad to wash them off the screen after use!

building up layers of colour and pattern

prints in progress

Inspired by Antoni and Alison's carefree, energetic SS13 prints, Sarah Raphel's work I saw at the Museum of childhood and Louise Gray's busy and bold layered prints, (the in-depth posts about these influences can be found here, http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/fashion-print-inspiration.html , here, http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/making-stencils.html and here http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/inspiration-sarah-raphaels-childhood.html!) I enjoyed working on a large piece of silk like it was a big canvas to experiment on. It helped me to design in quite a free, fun way, knowing that I could simultaneously build up different areas of pattern all at once. Also, because I could see my designs all at once as one big picture, I was conscious of wanting to make a family of prints, with my playful vision running through all of them. I was quite careful about my colour choices and how many times I repeated the same stencils however, as I wanted to make sure there would be enough variation in my work to give the final samples their own identity and make an exciting, surprising collection. 

my printed fabric steamed and ready to wash, iron, cut up and present!

Playing with prints

Seeing as I've had PRINT on my mind lately with the technical block work, when I was out browsing some shops the other day, I couldn't help zoning in on the patterns that were around. I started off just taking snaps of prints I liked, but then ended up trying on a few printed garments to experiment with how patterns could go together too. It was good fun!

Geometrics

Florals

Slogan/Graphic

Organic shapes & hand painted feel

Combing Patterns 

Sometimes garments with contrasting patterns work well worn together. But sometimes the same pattern all over on each separate garment creates a bold statement- like my final double dark floral skirt and top pairing! 
(Just incase you were wondering...it was all for research and inspiration- I was very restrained and only brought socks and tights on this 'shopping trip', ha!) 

Fashion Print Inspiration

I've been updating a dedicated 'print' board on my pinterest account to keep tabs on inspiring imagery and ideas. You can have a look here....
http://www.pinterest.com/flowergirl613/prints/
Having this inspiration to quick reference definitely helped when it came to making my screen prints in the workshop last week. Its always good to have a reminder of things you like and catch your eye, to inform the progress of your own project, I think!

I get particularly excited by seeing print in a fashion context. Seeing how pattern works in 3d over the body, and can cleverly be complimented by the cut of a garment is always fascinating. Looking to the current pre-fall shows, I just came across House of Holland's fun use of print. The digitally manipulated college imagery (especially in the central design) and slogan graphics in the bright colours remind me in a way of my own college-esqe digital prints I created in photoshop from my Box Clever collection! 

House of Holland prints for Pre-Fall '14 (Image at http://patternbank.com/catwalks/ Accessed 15/1/14)

From the up coming season, Spring/Summer '14, I really loved Japser Conran's designs. All his prints have a bold, hand drawn feeling to them, with the simple monochromatic colour schemes demonstrating how effective a 2-colour print can look. I like all the different scales of print that are so clearly visible throughout the collection- from smaller scribble motifs, to large scale swirling patterns. When it came to screen printing with my own stencils, I tried to think about how I could mix up the scales and overlay larger shapes with smaller repeats ontop. 

Jasper Conran Prints (Image at http://patternbank.com/london-fashion-week-springsummer-2014-part-1/ Accessed 15/1/14) 

Antoni and Alison's show from last Spring/Summer also came back to mind when I started this print block. Although the final prints were digitally printed, I love the messy, painty feel they have, and found them quite inspiring to look at in reference to my screen printing. 

Antoni & Alison SS13
(Image at http://patternbank.com/london-fashion-week-springsummer-2013-print-highlights-part-1/ Accessed 15/1/14) 

I love the way the prints aren't at all timid- the strong, confident strokes of paint and bright colour combinations encouraged me to also be brave and daring in my screen print choices. In the end I printed my final silk screen designs all onto one big square of fabric, which I then cut into separate samples. Antoni and Alison's SS13 prints have such a sense of freedom and fun, and working on one big piece of silk helped me to release my creativity, rather than trying to design on the confines of lots of small pieces. 

Image reference:
(2014) House of Holland Pre-fall '14 prints [Online Image] Available at http://patternbank.com/catwalks/  [Accessed 15/1/14]
(2014) Jasper Conran SS Prints [Online Image] Available at  http://patternbank.com/london-fashion-week-springsummer-2014-part-1/ [Accessed 15/1/14]
(2013) Antoni & Alison SS13 prints [Online image]  Available at http://patternbank.com/london-fashion-week-springsummer-2013-print-highlights-part-1/ [Accessed 15/1/14]

People and Prints!

I've been out and about- looking at street style for inspiration on how people wear PRINTS and put together outfits featuring PATTERN!

I loved this lady's trousers- the bold, large scale bird of paradise repeat certainly brightens up a January day. And although it was probably unintentional...I couldn't help but smile at the way her orange sainsburys bag perfectly colour co-ordinates!

Waiting at the bus stop with multiple prints going on here! Although the black tights and jacket give the outfit grounding, I like the way this girl has clearly had fun being brave, layering up different colours and matching the more restrained floral skirt and bag with the statement red aztec patterned top. 

Had to snap the back view as well- check out the textures on that jacket!

I found this stylish lady on Oxford Street- what a brilliant coat. The fact that this garment has a patchwork of prints on it already, makes it easy to pull off a print-astic look! The simplicity of the black, red and white colour scheme works well. 

Another aztec-style pattern features on this jacket. I like how it runs down the front and down the arms, and an interesting contrast is created between the large scale, striking monochrome pattern and the classic check on the scarf it has been paired with! 

Perhaps due to it being the winter season, so many people's outfits seem to have a basis in dark, muted colours at the moment. However, the mirrored shoulder placement of this simple gold swirling pattern on the shoulders of this jumper really lifts and adds energy to the whole look. 

This was the first person I found who wasn't wearing a single black garment! The coral colour of the bird silhouettes on her scarf nicely match the colour of her jumper cuff just peeping out under her coat. Although its hard to see from the lighting in this photo, there were also birds on her leather boots, truly making it a head-to-toe look! 

Doing this has definitely made me more aware of paying closer attention to how other people put outfits together, and seeing what appeals to them. However, it is a shame not to spot more people wearing prints out and about at the moment- I guess everyone is covering up in their warm winter coats when they venture outside...I bet they are hiding many more gorgeous prints away underneath! I'll just have to keep looking out for style on the street as the weather gets warmer when the year goes on! 

my Digital print designs

Here's the final photoshop designs developed from my scanned in research drawings and photos! Playing around to create these was really fun...I hope that comes across in the final designs!

digital print design introduction

After our photoshop induction, I found that playing around with photoshop can be quite fun and addictive! There's limitless potential to how you can change a design, all just with a series of clicks and new layers. Suddenly, you can create a new colour-way, background, define a pattern, or turn the whole image into a silhouette and fill it in with another image- and it just goes on! I really enjoyed having the chance to experiment with things I have already taught myself when I've played around on the programme before, as well as picking up new tips and tricks. There is so much to learn!

From my 'hybrid' collages, and the patchwork-like 'childhood cube' I saw on my visit to the Museum of Childhood, I knew I wanted my prints to be quite busy with juxtaposed elements. I began by scanning in some of my Box Clever drawings and then recolouring, scaling and filling in sections, which I could copy and play around with. Here's a few screen shots of some initial experiments, which sparked off further ideas for my A3 designs.... 

Inspiration: POP and Paul

Before Christmas I made it to 2 great exhibitions: 'Hello my name is Paul Smith' at the Design Museum, and the Barbican's 'Pop art' exhibition. 
Both were pretty inspiring in terms of print, my current rotation. Here are a few snaps I took in the design museum of things that really caught my eye...

This was on a big wall of posters Paul Smith has collected- 

-its a Rob Ryan paper cut, and the stencil-like effect really reminded me of the paper stencils I've been making to use in the screen printing workshop this week. I love the intricacy and the way Ryan's work tells a story...

These images are all details and interesting patterns on garments from various Paul Smith collections across the years. The bold, large scale of the patterns, which cover all, or large parts of each garment, appeals to me. It was especially fun to see how Smith has taken this bold approach with menswear as well as womenswear, seeing as menswear is often more about subtlety and discreet touches. 

Finally, I loved the mock up of the Paul Smith design studio in covent garden- how exciting to get a peek at the world of professional print designers working for a label!

Exhibition Reference:

various artists (2013-14) Pop Art Design. London: Barbican Centre. Visited 12/12/13

Smith, Paul. (2013-14) Hello, my name is Paul Smith. London: Design Museum. Visited 12/12/13